Valle de Juarez

Thursday March 19…10:30pm

We were up at 6:00am, and we left the city of Colima at 7:15am.

We had numerous beautiful clear views of the Colima Volcano. The city of Colima sits at an altitude of about 3,000 ft, and the top the volcano towers above the nearby landscape at 13,000 feet. This is an active volcano, and today it had a small plume of smoke coming from it.

Colima volcano

We were going to take the toll road from Colima to our turn off near Tuxpan, but at the last minute we opted for the free road. The toll for our motorhome would have been 135 pesos ($12.15 CAN, $9.75 US) for a distance of about 30 kms (18 miles) and we thought that was too much for that short distance. I think we were wrong. The free road was so steep and twisty windy in sections that we averaged about 40 km/h. I’m sure we spent $10 in gas to save the $12 toll fee. Plus the aggravation of dealing with the other drivers who were too cheap to pay the toll. From now on, we will likely take the toll roads when they are available in the direction we’re going. They are expensive, but the cost of the toll saves on fuel, wear and tear on the vehicle, and frustration of the driver…me!

When we got off the main route and headed for Mazamitla, we started climbing higher. We drove 150 kms (93 miles) for the day and it took 3 hours, and we went from 3,000 feet elevation to 6,400 feet elevation.

We had read about this campground online and it sounded really nice. We purposely detoured here from our route to Guadalajara. They have very reasonable prices, and it’s in a rural setting. We were welcomed right away and were invited to join a few of the other campers to a nearby village that was having it’s fiesta tonight.

Parked up at Hacienda Contreras

We got ourselves set up, and took Whiskey for a walk around the grounds. There are quite a few others from Ontario here, and we think it’s because it’s a kind of a stop off point between the Pacific beaches and the border at Texas. However it’s also a place we would spend a couple of weeks or more because the area offers a lot of hiking and exploring opportunities. And the temperature in this area is pretty much perfect for us…day highs about 25C (77F) and night lows about 12C (55F).

We joined about 5 other couples in two vehicles for the ride to the fiesta. The town square was very busy, with entertainment and fireworks, although we didn’t stay for the fireworks. One of the other couples we were with is about our age, and is from the town of Kingston, Nova Scotia…very close to where our daughter Lindsey lives.

At the Fiesta

We’ve paid for 2 nights but I can see us stretching it out for a night or two more….

Total nights sleeping in a motorhome…509

March Fuel $233.20 CAN

March Grocery $217.62 CAN

March Overnight costs $ 94.35 CAN